PORTUGAL

In addition to the current trio’s two joint themes for the project – Africa-EU relations and Financing for Development – the Portuguese NGDO Platform intends to focus on the following topics during the Portuguese presidency:

• Challenges related to the Portuguese-speaking African countries with emphasis on Africa-EU relations, especially regarding the enabling environment for civil society, as well as youth and development and the deepening of the debates around the private sector’s role in development;
• digitalisation for sustainable development and the role of civil society organisations (CSOs);
• climate change and the 2030 Agenda.

Concerning these topics, special attention will be paid to investing in CSOs’ capacity building for the joint themes of the project, especially for subjects such as offical development assistance (ODA)), the Africa-EU Partnership and climate change. Regarding the relevance of digitalisation, the Portuguese NGDO Platform will promote critical thinking opportunities for CSOs to reflect on and to build common positions on the challenges and opportunities in this area.

The strengthening of CSOs’ capacities will enhance their contribution to the process of building civil society’s advocacy messages and their ability to communicate with the general public, thus promoting a better understanding of the issues related with the thematic priorities.

The awareness raising dimension within the project will be improved especially in regard to climate change and the 2030 Agenda, as the Portuguese NGDOs Platform will award a sub-grant for CSOs to develop awareness-raising activities with the youth on these subjects.

The Portuguese NGDO Platform will also carry out a consultation process with its member organisations and other CSOs in the country in order to set civil society’s priorities for the Portuguese presidency. The outcomes of this process will feed into the Platform’s activities during the six-month period and its exchanges with national and European stakeholders.